EssexWasp
January 7th, 2009, 11:44 AM
We are a family of four, 2 daughters aged 8 & 11, my wife is 39 and I am 46. This was our first HAL cruise having sampled NCL, Carnival, Princess and Costa in the past.
We flew in from London on the 26th and stayed at the Sheraton in FL - nice hotel and an even nicer price on Hotwire! Shared a taxi to the port on the Sunday with some fellow CCers [hello Erin and Rob!] and had a very smooth embarkation - probably 35 mins in total and the shore staff were very helpful.
The Westerdam is a beautiful ship, 'classy' was the word that kept coming to mind and she was spotless. We went to drop off some stuff at our cabin - we had an inside 4-berth [1068] which was huge, easily the largest 4 berth we had had on any line. Lots of storage space for us and the kids with a large floor space for the kids to play with some Xmas presents they had brought with them. The bathroom was a good size too and my DW loved the Elemis toiletries although they wernt always refilled every day which they really needed to be for 4 passengers.
We saw our cabin stewards on the first day and then only twice more during the cruise but [aside from the above] they were really efficient and we had no problems with anything - they left towel animals every night which the kids loved, especially the monkey hanging from the little ladder.
The ship is beautifully understated, with some facinating artwork and we spent some time exploring to get our bearings as well as booking some tables for dinner [we were on AYW dining, more of which later].
The Lido food was excellent, probably better than any we tried on other lines and the absence of trays wasnt really a problem - we particularly liked the fresh orange juice at breakfast and the sheer variety of food at lunch.
Club HAL was in a very small space but I cant speak highly enough of the inventiveness and professionalism of the staff. Our kids loved the club and were so happy - there was only one small incident during their scavenger hunt when some fellow passengers complained about them running through the Crows Nest [shock horror!] and eating ice cream [whatever is the world coming to - kids eating ice cream?]. All in all though, a great experience for the kids who made many new friends from the US and have a bulging book of new email addresses!
Half Moon Cay was everything we could have hoped for - beautiful, peaceful and a little bit of paradise. We managed to get some loungers by the kids area with the small water slides and inflatables and didnt see the kids all day [except out of the corner of our eyes] - the tendering was hassle free and quick and the BBQ fine. My 11 year-old said that it was
" the best day of my life " - a perfect day!
We loved the day in Aruba - went to Palm beach and then sat by the pool at the Westin. On the way back, the bus driver may have perhaps enjoyed a little festive spirit and after she drove over the third boulder on a roundabout, nearly tipping the bus over, we all got off until things calmed down a bit and the kids had stopped crying! The New Year party on the ship was great, lots of champers, dancing - well done HAL!
On Curacao, we had a relaxing [slightly hungover]day on Kon Tiki beach where we had a 40 minute massage each for $38 - great value!
The sea days we found a little dull - enjoyed the trivia quizzes, culinary lectures and films but the family pool got very crowded as the boat was full. Still good though.
The entertainment was mixed - the singers & dancers were top notch and the best we have seen on any cruise. The comedienne was ok but not as good as some we have seen on Carnival and Princess - it wasnt a wasted hour though! The juggler was, well, a juggler. Seen one etc.
Disembarkation was easy-peasy and we were in our South Beach Hotel by 11am.
BUT
The fly in the ointment was the abomination they call AYW dining. On the first night we had a booking for 8pm which they couldnt honour - we finally sat down to a shared table [with a lovely couple from New Jersey] at 8.35 and were hurried out of the dining room by 9.30. They brought our mains before our starters were finished, the coffee before the desert and really couldnt wait to get rid of us. We had really been looking forward to a family dinner.
The next evening we were told it would be a 45 minute wait for a shared table so we went to the Lido - same food but obviously not the ambience. The third night we put the kids in the kids club and went down to have a romantic dinner but again, no chance of a table for 2 and so we ended up sharing with a group from North Carolina. The next morning, I went to the front desk to explain that, unless it was sorted, we would remove our tips and, lo and behold, got a table for the family on New Years Eve.
The next evening, we went to the show and arrived at the dining room at 8.05 - we were seated at 9.15 and it was horrible. My daughter asked for more crabs legs and was told the kitchen was closing and she couldnt have any; my fillet mignon had been sitting in the kitchen for a while and was burnt to a crisp [I asked for medium rare], coffee came before the dessert and my wife's expresso was slammed down in front of me! We had eaten our 4 courses and were gone by 9.50 and they were changing the linen around us, blowing out the candles etc - a terrible experience.
I asked for a meeting with a senior member of staff next morning and here was the response:
The ship was full, only had one dining room and that meant there was a pre and post show bottleneck
They had been innundated with complaints but AYW dining worked for some, particularly past guests who knew how to play the system
They accepted it wasnt working for all and hoped Seattle would look at AYW again
They promised us a table at the upper dining room that evening - they were as good as their word and we had a lovely meal.
We had no choice but to take AYW dining as fixed seating was not available when we booked so we do feel slightly cheated - my wife reckoned that the stress of trying to get a table was a blight on the whole cruise and I agree with her.
Would we cruise with HAL again? Yes, we would love to but only if AYW dining is scrapped - the ship is not big enough to make it work during times when it is full and it is a shame that HAL are prepared to cheese off some passengers in this way because in all other aspects they do such a good job.
We flew in from London on the 26th and stayed at the Sheraton in FL - nice hotel and an even nicer price on Hotwire! Shared a taxi to the port on the Sunday with some fellow CCers [hello Erin and Rob!] and had a very smooth embarkation - probably 35 mins in total and the shore staff were very helpful.
The Westerdam is a beautiful ship, 'classy' was the word that kept coming to mind and she was spotless. We went to drop off some stuff at our cabin - we had an inside 4-berth [1068] which was huge, easily the largest 4 berth we had had on any line. Lots of storage space for us and the kids with a large floor space for the kids to play with some Xmas presents they had brought with them. The bathroom was a good size too and my DW loved the Elemis toiletries although they wernt always refilled every day which they really needed to be for 4 passengers.
We saw our cabin stewards on the first day and then only twice more during the cruise but [aside from the above] they were really efficient and we had no problems with anything - they left towel animals every night which the kids loved, especially the monkey hanging from the little ladder.
The ship is beautifully understated, with some facinating artwork and we spent some time exploring to get our bearings as well as booking some tables for dinner [we were on AYW dining, more of which later].
The Lido food was excellent, probably better than any we tried on other lines and the absence of trays wasnt really a problem - we particularly liked the fresh orange juice at breakfast and the sheer variety of food at lunch.
Club HAL was in a very small space but I cant speak highly enough of the inventiveness and professionalism of the staff. Our kids loved the club and were so happy - there was only one small incident during their scavenger hunt when some fellow passengers complained about them running through the Crows Nest [shock horror!] and eating ice cream [whatever is the world coming to - kids eating ice cream?]. All in all though, a great experience for the kids who made many new friends from the US and have a bulging book of new email addresses!
Half Moon Cay was everything we could have hoped for - beautiful, peaceful and a little bit of paradise. We managed to get some loungers by the kids area with the small water slides and inflatables and didnt see the kids all day [except out of the corner of our eyes] - the tendering was hassle free and quick and the BBQ fine. My 11 year-old said that it was
" the best day of my life " - a perfect day!
We loved the day in Aruba - went to Palm beach and then sat by the pool at the Westin. On the way back, the bus driver may have perhaps enjoyed a little festive spirit and after she drove over the third boulder on a roundabout, nearly tipping the bus over, we all got off until things calmed down a bit and the kids had stopped crying! The New Year party on the ship was great, lots of champers, dancing - well done HAL!
On Curacao, we had a relaxing [slightly hungover]day on Kon Tiki beach where we had a 40 minute massage each for $38 - great value!
The sea days we found a little dull - enjoyed the trivia quizzes, culinary lectures and films but the family pool got very crowded as the boat was full. Still good though.
The entertainment was mixed - the singers & dancers were top notch and the best we have seen on any cruise. The comedienne was ok but not as good as some we have seen on Carnival and Princess - it wasnt a wasted hour though! The juggler was, well, a juggler. Seen one etc.
Disembarkation was easy-peasy and we were in our South Beach Hotel by 11am.
BUT
The fly in the ointment was the abomination they call AYW dining. On the first night we had a booking for 8pm which they couldnt honour - we finally sat down to a shared table [with a lovely couple from New Jersey] at 8.35 and were hurried out of the dining room by 9.30. They brought our mains before our starters were finished, the coffee before the desert and really couldnt wait to get rid of us. We had really been looking forward to a family dinner.
The next evening we were told it would be a 45 minute wait for a shared table so we went to the Lido - same food but obviously not the ambience. The third night we put the kids in the kids club and went down to have a romantic dinner but again, no chance of a table for 2 and so we ended up sharing with a group from North Carolina. The next morning, I went to the front desk to explain that, unless it was sorted, we would remove our tips and, lo and behold, got a table for the family on New Years Eve.
The next evening, we went to the show and arrived at the dining room at 8.05 - we were seated at 9.15 and it was horrible. My daughter asked for more crabs legs and was told the kitchen was closing and she couldnt have any; my fillet mignon had been sitting in the kitchen for a while and was burnt to a crisp [I asked for medium rare], coffee came before the dessert and my wife's expresso was slammed down in front of me! We had eaten our 4 courses and were gone by 9.50 and they were changing the linen around us, blowing out the candles etc - a terrible experience.
I asked for a meeting with a senior member of staff next morning and here was the response:
The ship was full, only had one dining room and that meant there was a pre and post show bottleneck
They had been innundated with complaints but AYW dining worked for some, particularly past guests who knew how to play the system
They accepted it wasnt working for all and hoped Seattle would look at AYW again
They promised us a table at the upper dining room that evening - they were as good as their word and we had a lovely meal.
We had no choice but to take AYW dining as fixed seating was not available when we booked so we do feel slightly cheated - my wife reckoned that the stress of trying to get a table was a blight on the whole cruise and I agree with her.
Would we cruise with HAL again? Yes, we would love to but only if AYW dining is scrapped - the ship is not big enough to make it work during times when it is full and it is a shame that HAL are prepared to cheese off some passengers in this way because in all other aspects they do such a good job.